Camarillo to host informational meeting on Highway 101 projects

Camarillo city officials will hold a public meeting Tuesday to share upcoming plans to improve traffic congestion on Highway 101.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the community room of the Camarillo Public Library, 4101 E. Las Posas Road. Assistant City Manager Tom Fox will give an overview of the project, followed by an audience question-and-answer session.

Dave Klotzle, Camarillo’s director of public works, said the goal of the meeting is to inform residents about the city’s plan to reduce traffic along its main thoroughfare.

“This is Camarillo’s localized, focused effort to relieve traffic flow in our area,” Klotzle said. “As one of the City Council’s adopted goals for this year, we want people to know it is a high priority.”

Currently, upgrades are only being considered for northbound Highway 101 between Santa Rosa Road and Central Avenue, the area where congestion takes place most often, according to Klotzle.

Possible changes to the freeway include the construction of auxiliary lanes, which extend between on-ramps and off-ramps and allow motorists more time and space to merge; on-ramp signals, which stagger traffic flow entering the freeway; and the addition of a carpool lane, which would widen the highway to include a fourth lane on each side.

A traffic signal installed at the Lewis Road northbound on-ramp will go live in late February or early March; beyond that, the city is in the early stages of the project and will likely not see any changes for several years, according to Klotzle

“Our goal is to be under construction within five years,” he said.

At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, the council voted unanimously in favor of allocating more than $530,000 to hire design firm WKE Inc. and environmental firm Galvin Preservation Associates Inc. to consult on the project.

The council also reallocated $350,000 to the construction of auxiliary lanes from other projects involving the Ponderosa shopping center driveway and the repaving of the Pleasant Valley School District offices’ parking lot.

Caltrans and the Ventura County Transportation Commission are also involved with the planning and funding of the Highway 101 project.

Last year, the commission hired consultants to perform preliminary services regarding the addition of carpool lanes for the entirety of Highway 101 in Ventura County. The project would cost an estimated $575 million to $2 billion, depending on the final options.